The present invention relates to a door opening device, in particular for an electric household appliance door.
Devices for opening electric household appliance, in particular washing-machine, doors are known to comprise a number of assembled components, typically: a handle gripped by the user and hinged by pins to the door; a catch fixed to and movable with the handle to engage a seat formed on the appliance; and a contrasting spring acting on the catch to keep it in the closed position while at the same time permitting release of the catch from the seat.
The major drawback of devices of this sort is the number of separate components for assembly, which obviously affects overall cost.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an opening device designed to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks of known devices, and which, in particular, has a small number of components for assembly, is therefore cheap and easy to produce, and at the same time is both efficient and reliable.
According to the present invention, there is provided a device for opening a door, in particular an electric household appliance door, the device comprising a handle; a catch for engaging a respective seat; elastic contrasting means acting on said catch; and hinge means permitting rotation of said handle with respect to the door and, consequently, release of said catch from the respective seat; and being characterized in that said handle is formed in a one-piece body with said catch from polymer material; and in that said elastic means are defined by an elastic member projecting integrally from said handle and said catch.
The opening device according to the invention therefore has fewer components to assemble than known devices, is therefore cheaper and easier to produce and install, and is nevertheless highly efficient and reliable.